Russian War Veteran Aleksandr Lunin Warns Putin Army Could ‘Turn Weapons Against the Kremlin’ in Viral Video

A Russian war veteran and military blogger sparked brief speculation about growing unrest within Russia’s armed forces after posting a viral video warning President Vladimir Putin that soldiers could turn “their weapons against the Kremlin” if alleged abuses inside the military were not addressed.

Aleksandr Lunin, a veteran of Russia’s war in Ukraine, published the video on Instagram on June 25. In it, he accused Russian commanders of widespread mistreatment of their own troops and demanded a live televised meeting with Putin.

If such a meeting did not take place soon, Lunin warned, “the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin.” He claimed he was passing along concerns from unnamed military and security officials who, he said, had met with him the previous day. He did not provide evidence to support that claim.

The video quickly spread online, drawing millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes.

Lunin Walks Back Threat a Day Later

Less than 24 hours later, Lunin appeared to retreat from his earlier remarks in a second video posted on June 26, insisting that his comments had been misinterpreted.

In a profanity-laced recording, Lunin said he had not intended to threaten a military mutiny. He argued that if officers were truly planning a rebellion, “they would do so quietly” rather than ask him to issue a public warning.

He also appeared to drop his demand for a televised meeting with Putin. Instead, Lunin said he aimed to draw attention to alleged abuses suffered by Russian soldiers who refuse what he described as “idiotic, suicidal orders” or decline to pay bribes to commanders.

Claims of Abuse Inside Russia’s Military

In his original video, Lunin alleged that Russian soldiers were being tortured and unlawfully detained by their own officers.

“Dozens, hundreds, thousands of our soldiers are rotting in pits, thrown there by their own commanders,” he claimed. He alleged that troops were being “tortured and abused” after refusing dangerous combat orders or refusing to hand over money to superiors. Some, he claimed, were later listed as missing in action.

In his follow-up video, Lunin said he had since received “thousands of messages, with video confirmation” describing similar abuse.

However, he has not publicly provided evidence to support his allegations.

Previous investigations by independent media and human rights groups have documented allegations that some Russian soldiers were held in makeshift detention sites, including pits and cellars, after refusing combat orders. There have also been reports accusing commanders of demanding money from troops in exchange for safer assignments, though such claims remain difficult to independently verify.

Kremlin Responds Cautiously

Asked about Lunin’s remarks during a regular briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that officials were aware of the initial appeal but declined to comment in detail.

Peskov said the message appeared to have been framed in a “strange” manner and indicated that the Kremlin wanted to review it further before responding. He did not say whether officials had also reviewed Lunin’s follow-up video, in which he walked back the apparent threat.

Signs of War Fatigue Grow

The controversy comes as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year. Western intelligence estimates suggest that more than half a million Russian troops have been killed since the war began.

Observers have pointed to growing public fatigue over the prolonged conflict, while Russia faces mounting economic pressure and continued debate among political elites over whether to escalate military operations or pursue a path toward ending the war.

Lunin’s comments also came around the third anniversary of the aborted June 2023 mutiny led by the late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin similarly accused Russia’s military leadership of sacrificing soldiers in costly offensives, while insisting that his criticism was aimed at senior defense officials rather than Putin himself. Two months after ending the rebellion, Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash widely believed by Western officials to have been an assassination.

Who Is Aleksandr Lunin?

According to the Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo, Lunin joined a Russian volunteer battalion in occupied southern Ukraine in 2023. He initially served as a sniper before becoming a unit commander. The outlet reported that his surname had previously been Pustovalov and that he stopped fighting after being “kicked off” the front in 2025.

Agentstvo also reported that Lunin claimed three officials, one from Russia’s Interior Ministry and one or two from the Defense Ministry, visited him in a black SUV on June 24. He also said he later met with an official from the Voronezh regional administration.

Reuters and other independent outlets have not been able to verify those claims independently. The episode highlights growing scrutiny of conditions inside Russia’s military, even as public criticism of the war remains tightly controlled and expressions of dissent continue to carry serious legal and political risks.